Razor blade sharpener



Oct. 12, 1943. A. LOEFFLER RAZOR BLADE SHARPENER Filed July 1, 1.943

M NVENTOR.

K Mm w W Patented Oct. 12, 1943 UNITED STATES OFFICE I I 2,331,486 t RAZOR BLADE SHABPENER iAlbert Loeilier, New Yornlv. Y; C Application Julyl, 194s, Seria1No.493,044

solaims. (01.51-21. 1) I This invention relates to razor blade sharpeners. T

One object of the invention is the provision of a razor blade sharpener having improved means for guiding a double-edged razor blade in course of sharpening the same on an abrasive surface.

The extreme fineness of alrazor blade edge causes considerable difficulty in sharpening the same on an abrasivesurface, in the absence of special skill. With this invention suchsharpening is satisiactorily accomplished by anyone,

without requiring special handles or guiding devices. Preferably the blade is longitudinally reciprocated while being pressed against'a curved abrasive surface. By reciprocation lengthwise, the edges are subjectedgto the smoothest possible grinding action. It is well known that under the microscope, a razor blade edge appearsto consist of'a multiplicity of'teeth. The sharpening action described avoids any" possibility of breakage of-these minute teeth. .Desirably the abrasive surface has its primary contact with the-'bevels of the cutting edges. "If those edges were always guided in the same line, a furrow wouldbe worn in the abrasive surface Hence a small degree of freedom is permitted so that aslight-degree of shifting or oscillation is permitted in a natural manner during the reciprocation, whereby the grinding action is improved.

It is therefore an object of the invention .to furnish a sharpening device having improved means for accomplishing the advantages mentioned.

Another object of the invention is to provide an element aflixed to the abrasive member and acting in the blade slot to guide and limitthe reciprocation of the blade; and a supplemental object is to afford the oscillatory motion coincident with reciprocation as by making the guide element a little narrower than the blade slot. I

Another object of the invention is the provision of a sharpener having a plane, blade supporting shelf elevated slightly above the adjacent part of the curved abrasive surface so as to assure clean and accurate contact of the blade bevel with the curved abrasive surface, any resulting debris being thus readily received out of the way of the blade edges.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sharpener having the several features mentioned and being constructed as a one-piece block consisting largely of abrasive or honing material for the blade.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the specification pro:- ceeds- I With the aforesaid objects i'nview, theinvention consistsv in' the .novelrcombinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described in their preferred embodiments, pointedout in the subjoined claims,an.d illustrated on the annexed drawing, wherein like parts are designatedby the same: reference characters. throughout the several .views. V v

In the drawing:

, Figure 1 is an enlarged plan view of a sharp-v ener embodying the invention, with they razor blade 'being shown' in dot-dash lines in operative position thereon. i

Figs. 2 and3 are sectional views taken respec-: tively on lines .2--,2, and 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectionalfview like that of Fig. 2, but showing the :blade. 7 Y

The advantages of thei nvention as here outlined are' best realized when all ofits features and instrumentalities are combinedin one and the same "structure, but, useful. devices may be produced embodying less 'thanthe whole.

It will be obvious tothose skilled in theart to which this invention appertainathat the same maybe incorporated in several different constructions. The accompanying drawing, therefore, isisubmitted merelyas howing the preferred 'exemplifi'cationbf theinvention. I I. 1,

Referring indetail-to the drawing, I0 denotes a device embodyingsme invention. The. same may include acne piece body or block consisting wholly or in part of abrasive material. This block is of the general form of an oblong shaped slab, whose upper surface II is generally concaved from edge to edge at I2, and is elongated from end to end at I3. Thus the surface II may be considered to be a segment of a cylindrical surface- This surface II is interrupted by a central longitudinal elevationor plane shelf I4 which extends between the edges I3 and is uniformly spaced from the edges I2. At the intersection between the shelf and the curved surface II, there may be formed the longitudinal depressions I5, for a purpose hereinafter described.

Formed on the top surface of theblock I0, and extending centrally thereof, is a guide or ridge portion I6 which terminates in spaced relation to the ends I3 of the block. This portion I6 may project upward from the shelf l4. While the latter is below the edges I2, the top of the ridge lies substantially in the plane of those edges for compactness.

The conventional razor blade I! may have opposite cutting edges characterized by the bevels l8, and a central elongated slot opening [9. As shown in Fig. 4, the blade I! rests almost flatwise on the shelf H, with the ridge l6 being received in the slot [9, while the blade is pressed down on the shelf and reciprocated as indicated by the arrow 20. Hence the ridge l6 constitutes a guiding and limiting means, for the reciprocation of the blade. When thus operated the blade has been subjected to a very slight transverse flexure, with the bevels l8 contacting the abrasive curved surface I I. In other words the primary grinding contact is with the bevels rather than with the- 1 cutting edge or with the microscopic teeth which do the actual shaving. This grinding contact is spaced from the shelf l4, so that any debris is free to work away laterally to the pockets l5 to permit an accurate contact of the blade bevels with the arc shaped surface. The pockets I5 may also serve as a reservoir for oil, whichmay be retained with the aid of fine particles of abrasive material or other debris in the pockets l5.

Preferably I make the ridge l6 somewhat narrowerthan the blade slot i9, whereby there results a novel combination 2| embodying the invention. In consequence, the blade can oscillate or shift slightly, which is an action that will occur naturally during the reciprocation. This will prevent the blade edges from wearing grooves in the abrasive curved surface II, and will cause the wear to be distributed. If the abrasive is sufficiently hard, the resultant life of the device ill will be very long. Moreover, the sharpening action will improve, but the microscopic teeth of the cutting edges will be safeguard d a t breakage because the motion is mainly longitudinal and only aminute component is at an angle to that motion.

It will now be seen that a single block it! can embody the abrading surfaces and the supporting and guiding means so that a blade is instantly applied, sharpened on one face, reversed, and sharpened on the other face to complete the operation. The block is simple, cheap, compact, small, light in weight, and easy to clean. Certain principles may be embodied in such blocks made of glass or othermaterials, but all the essential advantages are obtained if the block is made of an abrasive material. By the use of suitable binders, an abrasive block can 'be obtained of extreme accuracy, having little or no porosity, and being highly smooth in texture.

I claim:

1. A device including a sharpener for a slotted razor blade, including a body consisting of abrasive material, said body having a concaved elongated abrasive surface against which a razor blade is adapted to be pressed while being moved back and forth, and a ridge integral with the body and lying adjacent to a center line of the concaved surface and projecting upward therefrom, said ridge being adapted to enter the slot of the blade to guide the same, aid ridge terminating in spaced relation to the nds of the said body and serving as a stop to limit the back and forth movement of the blade.

2. A device including a sharpener for a slotted razor blade, comprising a block of fine abrasive material having a plane longitudinal shelf portion for slidably, fiatwise supporting the razor blade, a ridg portion centrally elongated on the said shelf, projecting upward therefrom, and terminating in spaced relation to the ends of the shelf, whereby the ridge portion cooperates with the blade slot for guiding and limiting the reciprocation of the blade and curved portions on opposite sides of the shelf elongated therewith, the respective curved portions beginning their curvature immediately at the side of the shelf but at a line below the blade supporting surface of the shelf with the curvature continuing to lines at an elevation slightly higher than that of the blade supporting surface, whereby a blade pressed against said supporting surface makes uniform contact of its cutting edge bevels with the curved surfaces along lines spaced from the shelf portion.

3. A device including a sharpener for a slotted razor blade comprising a member consisting of abrasive material and having a concavity adapted for contact with the bevels along the cutting edges of the blade when the latter is pressed against the surface of the concavity in course of reciprocating the blade, and a ridge portion central to the concavity and projecting upwardly from the member, said ridge portion being affixed to the member and terminating in spaced relation to the ends of the concavity, whereby the ridge portion is adapted to engage in the blade slot for guiding and limiting the reciprocation of the blade, said ridge portion being narrower than the blade slot to permit a slight oscillation of the blade during sharpening reciprocation thereof.

ALBERT LOEFFLER. 

